Thread: a bull that never got weaned one year on

Originally Posted by Bill999

I dehorned my original steers/mothercows years back and decided then and there it would be the last time I go down that track

the ones Ill keep longterm are my two mother cows and new(last years replacment calf thats now an heifer)

the rest are just walking meat storage for my crew/family

its just a shame its so damn expensive to chop them up at the butchers

Usaly around $100 to kill and $1.50 per kg so should be looking at $4-600 depending on how many small goods you have made

Originally Posted by Bill999

I was thinking I could do that to take the time pressure off things but iv picked up on that I probably shouldn’t as they are too old now to steer?

I was sort of planning to do that once next years calves were set (which now they are) but have been told that isn’t a good idea now that they are this big

Is that true or am I getting the wrong end of the stick/bad advise?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Everything in life is illegal or frowned upon, but those rings are really strong and that air operated hand piece hasn't come across a ball bag that it doesn't fit.

Yes, the cost gets to us too.

When we homekill now, we shoot in late July (coldest time of the year here at 600m ASL in the CNI), skin and gut hanging from the front end loader, then hang on the south side of the house under cover for 10 days wrapped in old sheets to keep any blowies running on antifreeze away.

After one and a half days on the knives you can get a bit over it all, but its all worth it when you get to eating it

I have an awesome nabour that has a chiller for his pig hunting that Im sure if I cover the cost of power and chip a bit of beef his way will be more than happy to let me use it

how long do you hang a young bull in the chiller for? 7-10days like normal?

Originally Posted by DavidGunn

Everything in life is illegal or frowned upon, but those rings are really strong and that air operated hand piece hasn't come across a ball bag that it doesn't fit.

I bet you tell that to all your daughters boyfriends to keep em in line

Originally Posted by Moa Hunter

If you kill them at home and cut them into quarters to hang and handle there is probably a retired butcher around or an apprentice who would cut them up for you on an hourly rate.

fuck it I like how you are thinking

I chop up everything else on 4 legs so how is a cow any different

plus It turns my guts how rough home kill guys are with their laxed attitude to cleanlyness and cross contamination with other blood on his truck tray

last cow he shot for me he hit in the nasal cavity then started explaining to me why it happened while the poor cow was snorting out blood
I had to tell him to shut the fuck up and finish the job

Originally Posted by Bill999

fuck it I like how you are thinking

I chop up everything else on 4 legs so how is a cow any different

plus It turns my guts how rough home kill guys are with their laxed attitude to cleanlyness and cross contamination with other blood on his truck tray

last cow he shot for me he hit in the nasal cavity then started explaining to me why it happened while the poor cow was snorting out blood
I had to tell him to shut the fuck up and finish the job

Sounds like you have a bit of bad luck with your homekill guy. We do miss sometimes and have to give it a quick follow up. As for hanging it depends on the chiller if it's running around 2 degrees then 14 days is Allgood. If you want to do the job over a couple of weekends kill it 1 Saturday bone it the next Saturday and re hang in primal and pack it the 3rd Saturday. If the chiller is running warm or being opened all the time it shortens up the hanging time. Make sure the chiller is on and down to temperature before putting the beef in alot make the mistake of putting it in then turning the chiller on. For cutting a beef in half a bacho saw works good or if you have a reciprocating saw get a makita or bosch stainless blade don't use a chainsaw makes alot of mess and the bone fragments will go green first. Hope this helps out a bit

I use a cordless reciprocating saw with a stainless blade (30 or 40 cm I think) for cutting sheep in half, it just whizzes through them.

Originally Posted by country cuts

Sounds like you have a bit of bad luck with your homekill guy. We do miss sometimes and have to give it a quick follow up. As for hanging it depends on the chiller if it's running around 2 degrees then 14 days is Allgood. If you want to do the job over a couple of weekends kill it 1 Saturday bone it the next Saturday and re hang in primal and pack it the 3rd Saturday. If the chiller is running warm or being opened all the time it shortens up the hanging time. Make sure the chiller is on and down to temperature before putting the beef in alot make the mistake of putting it in then turning the chiller on. For cutting a beef in half a bacho saw works good or if you have a reciprocating saw get a makita or bosch stainless blade don't use a chainsaw makes alot of mess and the bone fragments will go green first. Hope this helps out a bit

we have a reciprocating saw on hand too
and a front end loader on my tractor

that helps a ton especially with the scheduling side of things as its just intimidating to potentially mess up this many $$ worth of meat

I think the best way to handle the home kill guys is not watch them as i think he felt like he needed to explain himself rather than quickly finish the animal

the beef that came from that animal was great so at least it didnt have any toughening effect

For a jersey I was happy enough with the steak


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I either use a new hand saw, or my reciprocating one which I have taken all the paint off the blade. I do have a chainsaw where the oiler stopped working which I use if I have a few sheep to do or when I did a cow. most of the good stuff is in the hand quarters in a cow ( except the eye fillets etc) so it pays to take ya time with that bit. The homekill guy who did my most recent one charged about $4/kg for the chopping and packing. Only done 1 cow myself and that took me hours and hours to cut up. Done a heap of sheep but the moo is a bit of a different story.

Originally Posted by Cigar

I use a cordless reciprocating saw with a stainless blade (30 or 40 cm I think) for cutting sheep in half, it just whizzes through them.

That Jersey steak looks pretty good Bill. Some people are put off by the yellow fat but it all tastes the same I reckon. Good intramuscular fat in it by the look.

Originally Posted by rugerman

I either use a new hand saw, or my reciprocating one which I have taken all the paint off the blade. I do have a chainsaw where the oiler stopped working which I use if I have a few sheep to do or when I did a cow. most of the good stuff is in the hand quarters in a cow ( except the eye fillets etc) so it pays to take ya time with that bit. The homekill guy who did my most recent one charged about $4/kg for the chopping and packing. Only done 1 cow myself and that took me hours and hours to cut up. Done a heap of sheep but the moo is a bit of a different story.



That Jersey steak looks pretty good Bill. Some people are put off by the yellow fat but it all tastes the same I reckon. Good intramuscular fat in it by the look.

it was fat everywhere which was great

Im a little intimadated by the size and time it will take but Im pretty broke at the moment and I have a few people I can call on to give me a hand
If the nabour is ok with letting me use the chiller It will be a go

time to watch a few youtube videos tonite Id say

lol mate I found about 6hrs of utube vids to watch before I did my one, but thought if I watch them all that's an extra 6 hours to do the job if you get into trouble just seam out the muscle groups and cut them across the grain for ya steaks. Good to use a hook maybe a bit like a wool bale hook to pull at the muscle while you cut along the seam ( very thin white membrane which is between all the muscles).

Are those bull horns big enough to make a couple roaring horns @Bill999 ?

Originally Posted by rugerman

I either use a new hand saw, or my reciprocating one which I have taken all the paint off the blade. I do have a chainsaw where the oiler stopped working which I use if I have a few sheep to do or when I did a cow. most of the good stuff is in the hand quarters in a cow ( except the eye fillets etc) so it pays to take ya time with that bit. The homekill guy who did my most recent one charged about $4/kg for the chopping and packing. Only done 1 cow myself and that took me hours and hours to cut up. Done a heap of sheep but the moo is a bit of a different story.



That Jersey steak looks pretty good Bill. Some people are put off by the yellow fat but it all tastes the same I reckon. Good intramuscular fat in it by the look.

I prefer the yellow fat, I actually think it tastes better.